Adventure, fame and fortune all came the way of Sir Harry Oakes, the self-made prospector and mine-finder who transformed Ontario’s Kirkland Lake district into one of the world’s most famous gold camps.
The scarcity of jobs during the Depression years prompted a young Egil Lorntzsen to pursue a prospecting career, starting in the Bridge River gold camp of British Columbia. But success was not to come until decades later, when he made an “elephant” copper discovery in nearby Highland Valley.
Franklin Spragins was a risk taking engineer and a visionary business leader whose efforts led to the successful development of Canada’s oil sands industry. He was the founding president of Syncrude Canada, which operates the largest surface mine and mineral processing facility in North America and is now Canada’s largest source of oil and its second largest producer.
A pioneer in the geophysical industry, Anthony (Tony) Barringer has made numerous contributions to the development of exploration technology, both in Canada and abroad. His most noteworthy contribution was the development of the INPUT (Induced Pulse Transient) airborne electromagnetic (EM) system.
When the modern age for exploration geophysics began more than four decades ago, Norman Paterson was one of its leaders. Today, he is known worldwide for his innovations in geophysical technology and skilled practice of geophysical techniques and interpretation.
Richard Geren has been aptly described as a man with mining in his blood, mind and soul. As a geologist working with Labrador Mining and Exploration, he was a key member of a team that delineated high-grade iron ore in the Knob Lake area of northeastern Quebec.
During a distinguished career that spanned more than five decades, John Fairfield Thompson led Inco through a period of phenomenal growth and immense social, economic and technical change. As a young scientist, he explored the potential of nickel and helped discover new uses for nickel-based alloys.
Dick Ennis was among a select number of larger-than-life personalities that appeared in the early days of the twentieth century when an explosion of mineral discoveries launched Canadian mining on a wave of unprecedented growth.
Michael J. Knuckey’s induction into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame recognizes his leadership role in the discovery or development of at least 10 mineral deposits, of which two are truly world class. Of these deposits, eight have become mines.
Edgar A. Scholz was one of the pioneers in applying large-scale open pit mining methods to low-grade copper, molybdenum and gold deposits.
